Foundations of Business Analysis

Course Number:

N/A

In this course, students will learn how to perform stakeholder analysis, how to effectively elicit the needs of these stakeholders and how to translate their needs into solution requirements. They will learn what is means for a requirement to be well-written, correct and precise and will practice adhering to these standards throughout the course.

Audience:

This course is intended for business analysts, from beginner to intermediate, who are looking to improve their skills by learning best practices and techniques for eliciting, analyzing, documenting, validating and communicating requirements.
Course Duration:
4 days

Prerequisites:

There are no prerequisites for this course.

Course Objectives:
  • Obtain an understanding of the business analyst’s core responsibilities
  • Understand the main professional associations and standards supporting business analysts in the industry
  • Discuss and explore each domain of the business analyst’s work
  • Recognize the importance of properly defining the business need prior to engaging in requirements activities
  • Understand the concepts that comprise strategy analysis
  • Obtain knowledge of and experience in stakeholder analysis
  • Decipher between project and product scope and successfully use models to communicate scope
  • Understand and be able to identify the various requirements categories and recognize requirements of various types
  • Develop interviewing skills and explore different ways to plan and structure interviews
  • Examine different forms of requirements documentation
  • Explore elements of communication, conflict and issue management
  • Know the concepts and activities involved in solution evaluation
  • Obtain hands-on experience with several business analysis techniques for eliciting, analyzing and modeling requirements
Course Outline:
  • Introduction to Business Analysis
    • What is Business Analysis?
    • Benefiting from Business Analysis
    • Business Analysis and Project Success
    • Challenges of Business Analysis
    • Discussion: Application to Your Organization

 

  • A Closer Look at the Business Analyst Role
    • Definition of Business Analyst
    • Responsibilities of a Business Analyst
    • The Business Analyst and Project Manager
    • PMI, IIBA and The Goals of a Professional Association
    • The Purpose of a BA Standard
    • IIBA’s BABOK® Guide and PMI’s Practice Guide in Business Analysis
    • Business Analysis Core Concepts
    • Business Analysis Perspectives
    • IIBA and PMI Certifications for Business Analysts
    • Lab – Introduction to Case Study

 

  • Strategy Analysis and Change
    • Define Strategy Analysis
    • When to Perform Strategy Analysis
    • Business Models
    • Defining the Business Need
    • Root Cause Analysis
    • The Five Whys oFishbone Diagram
    • Defining Business Requirements
    • Discussion: Application to Your Organization
    • Lab – Model, Define, Diagram, Write

 

  • Defining a Change Strategy
    • Define Change Strategy
    • Gap Analysis
    • Determining Solution Options
    • Enterprise Readiness
    • Cultural Fit
    • Operational and Functional Analysis
    • Impact Analysis
    • Transitioning to the Future State

 

  • Stakeholder Analysis
    • What is a Stakeholder?
    • The Importance of Stakeholder Analysis
    • Stakeholder Identification
    • Stakeholder Types
    • Identifying and Analyzing Stakeholders
    • Keeping Track of Stakeholders
    • Lab – Identify Stakeholders

 

  • Understanding and Defining Solution Scope
    • Defining Solution Scope
    • Techniques to Use
    • Project Scope versus Product Scope
    • Finding Solution Boundaries
    • What is a Feature?
    • Identifying Key Features
    • Discussion – Identifying Solution Scope
    • Lab – Draw a Context Diagram and Define Scope

 

  • Understanding Requirements
    • Project Roles Involved in Requirement Activities
    • Requirement Types
    • Assumptions and Constraints
    • Business Rules
    • Decision Tables and Inference Rules
    • Requirements verses Business Rules
    • Requirements verses Specifications
    • Discussion – Requirements and Business Rules
    • Lab – Define a Business Rule and Write Requirements

 

  • Business Process Modeling
    • Why Do We Model Processes?
    • What is Business Process Management?
    • Using a Modeling Notation
    • As Is͟ verses ͞To Be͟ Modeling oWhy Use BPMN?
    • Basic BPM Notation
    • Developing a Business Process Model
    • Using a Facilitated Session
    • Case Study – Business Process Modeling oDeveloping a Business Process Model
    • Lab – Create a Business Process Model

 

  • Preparing for Requirements Elicitation
    • Types of Elicitation Techniques
    • Interviewing – What and Why?
    • Preparing for an Effective Interview
    • Selecting the Right Interviewees
    • Types of Questions to Ask
    • Sequencing of Questions
    • Discussion – Elicitation Techniques You Have Used
    • Lab – Planning for an Interview

 

  • Elicitation using Interviews and Workshops
    • Conduct the Interview
    • Establishing Rapport with Stakeholders
    • Active Listening and Listening Styles
    • Workshops and Getting the Right People
    • The Role of the Facilitator
    • The Brainstorming Technique
    • Decision Rules and Reaching Consensus
    • Avoiding Groupthink
    • Encouraging Participation
    • Managing Meetings and Conflict
    • Lab – Conduct an Interview

 

  • Confirming Elicitation Results
    • Defining Requirements Analysis
    • Prioritizing Requirements (MoSCoW, Timeboxing, Voting, etc.)
    • Documenting Requirements
    • Other Uses for Specifications and Models
    • Unified Modeling Language (UML)
    • Explaining User Stories
    • The Traceability Matrix
    • Communicating Requirements
    • Lab – Analyzing, Identifying, Tracing

 

  • Analyzing Requirements with Use Cases
    • What Is an Actor?
    • Types of Actors
    • Defining Actors
    • Locating Use Cases
    • Use Case Diagrams
    • Use Case Tips
    • Defining and Identifying Scenarios
    • Parts of a Use Case
    • Defining Primary/Secondary Actors and Pre/Post Conditions
    • Best Practices for Writing Use Cases
    • Use Case Specification Template
    • Lab – Use Case Diagram and Main Success Scenario
    • Scenarios and Flows
    • Alternate and Exception Flows
    • Alternate Scenario Post Conditions
    • Guidelines for Alternate Flows
    • Examples of Alternate and Exception Flows
    • Lab – Writing Alternate and Exception Flows

 

  • Documenting Requirements
    • How Requirements Relate to Use Cases
    • Writing Non-Functional requirements
    • User Interface Requirements
    • Reporting Requirements
    • Data Requirements
    • Data Accessibility Requirements
    • Business Requirements Document (BRD)
    • BRD versus the Functional Requirements
    • Verifying Requirements
    • Quality Attributes
    • Purpose of the Requirements Package
    • Business Analysis Deliverables Across Domains
    • Planning Business Analysis Deliverables
    • Lab – Develop a User Interface and Verifying Requirements

 

  • Managing and Communicating Business Analysis Information
    • Business Analysis Communication
    • Business Analyst’s Role in Communication
    • Forms of Communication
    • Seven Cs of Communication
    • Symptoms of Information Overload
    • Information Mapping
    • Presentation and Common Elements
    • Requirements Walkthroughs
    • Conflict and Issue Management
    • Conflict Resolution Techniques

 

  • Evaluating the Solution
    • Understanding Solution Evaluation
    • Verification versus Validation
    • Timing of Solution Evaluation
    • Planning Solution Evaluation
    • Performing Solution Evaluation
    • Using Existing Metrics
    • Evaluating Long-Term Performance
    • Qualitative versus Quantitative measures
    • Tools and Techniques Used in Solution Evaluation
    • Comparing Expected versus Actuals
    • When Variances Occur
    • Proposing Recommendations to Address Variances
    • Communicating Evaluation Results

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